National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

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Rob Gardner

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Helianthus schweinitzii

Family:	Asteraceae
Common Name:	Schweinitz's sunflower
Author:	Torr. & Gray
Growth Habit:	Perennial
CPC Number:	2205

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Rob Gardner

Helianthus schweinitzii is Not Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

North Carolina Botanical Garden

Helianthus schweinitzii

Almost all of the extant populations of this native sunflower are on vulnerable sites. Protection from shade and competition from other vegetation have been identified as the most important habitat characteristics for Helianthus schweinitzii. Unfortunately, the habitat that meets these requirements has become increasingly rare. This species historically inhabited Piedmont prairies and glades, and open habitats that were maintained by natural fires and to some extent by grazing animals. Today, artificial disturbance provides the necessary open habitat�in places like roadsides and power line right-of-ways, sites that are extremely difficult to protect (USFWS 1991).

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

North Carolina
South Carolina

Habitat

Sunny to semi-sunny clearings such as roadsides, power line clearings, old pastures, and woodland openings. Generally on poor clay or rocky soil. (USFWS 1991)

Distribution

North Carolina and South Carolina (USFWS 1991)

Number Left

10 populations in NC, 6 populations in SC (USFWS 2000)

Protection

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Global Rank:	G3	3/16/2004	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	LE	10/24/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	Yes	4/22/1994

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

Associated with a variety of species: some with affinities to glade and prairie habitats of the Midwest, as well as some that are associated with fire-maintained sandhills and savannas of the Coastal Plain. (USFWS 1991)

Threats

� Fire suppression
� Urbanization
� Conversion of habitat to pine plantations
� Highway right-of-way maintenance
� Small population size
� Lack of formal protection for most known populations
(USFWS 1991)

Current Research Summary

� Demographic study conducted by Larry Barden, funded by The Nature Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
� Detailed mapping and monitoring of populations in South Carolina conducted by Richard Houk, funded by the South Carolina Natural Heritage Trust. The project also investigated conservation and management agreements with landowners.
� Seed germination and seedling establishment studied both in the field (Larry Barden, UNC-Charlotte) and in an artificial population established at Winthrop University (Richard Houk).

Current Management Summary

� Cooperative agreement between The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program and NC Department of Transportation to prevent the mowing of populations during the flowering and fruiting period--an unsuccessful effort as of 1994 (when Recovery Plan was published).
� A few sites in NC are managed by The Nature Conservancy, where efforts have been geared toward cutting back or burning encroaching woody vegetation to eliminate or reduce shading and competition.

Research Management Needs

� Reintroduction protocol
� Surveys for additional populations
� Protection and management of existing and restored sites
� Further research on the biology of the species and on management practices for maintaining suitable habitat

Ex Situ Needs

� Seed collection from populations not represented in collection.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Cooper, J.E.; Robinson, S.S.; Funderburg, J.B. 1977. Endangered and threatened plants and animals of North Carolina. Raleigh, NC.: North Carolina State Museum Natural History. 444p.

Cronquist, A. 1980. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States. Vol. 1. Asteraceae. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 261p.

Books (Sections)

Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC.

Electronic Sources

(2002). NC-ES Plant profiles. [Web pages] North Carolina Ecological Services--U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services--Southeast Region 4. http://nc-es.fws.gov/plant/plant.html. Accessed: 2002.

USFWS. (1990). Endangered and Threatened Species Accounts. [Web page] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species. http://ecos.fws.gov/servlet/TESSSpeciesQuery. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

Barden, L.S. 1994. Recovery of Schweinitz's sunflower Helianthus schweinitzii, a federally listed endangered species, after early- and mid-growing season controlled burns in piedmont North Carolina. Bulletin Ecological Society of America. 75: 9.

Chandler, J.M. 1986. Chromosomal Differentiation among the Annual Helianthus Species. Systematic Botany. 11, 2: 354-371.

Chandler, J.M.; Jan, C.C. 1985. Comparison of Germination Techniques for Wild Helianthus Seeds. Crop Science. 25: 356-358.

Davis, E.D.; Shinn, N.; Hood, D.; Barden, L.S. 1999. Rocky microsites prove best for establishing Schweinitz's sunflower, an endangered species of the Carolina Piedmont. Ecological Restoration. 17: 171-172.

Gershenzon, J.; Mabry, T.J. 1984. Furanoheliangolides from Helianthus schweinitzii. Phytochemistry. 23, 11: 2557-9.

Matthews, C.R.; Howard, J.H. 1999. Genetic Variation in the Federally Endangered Schweintz's Sunflower, Helianthus schweinitzii T. & G. (Asteraceae). Castanea : the journal of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club. 64, 3: 231.

Matthews, J.F.; Barden, L.S.; Matthews, C.R. 1997. Corrections of the chromosome number, distribution and misidentifications of the Federally endangered sunflower, Helianthus schweinitzii T&G. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 124, 2: 198-209.

Nelson, J.B.; Rayner, D.A. 1988. Isanthus brachiatus and Helianthus schweinitzii in York County, South Carolina. Castanea. 53, 1: 82-83.

USFWS. 1990. Helianthus schweinitzii (Schweinitz's sunflower) determined to be endangered. Federal Register. 56, 88: 21087-21091.

USFWS. 1990. Listing Protection Proposed for Six Species. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 15, 8: 1, 4.

USFWS. 1990. Proposed endangered status for the plant Helianthus schweinitzii (Schweinitz's sunflower). Federal Register. 55, 127: 27171-27440.

Newspaper Articles

Gubbins, Pat Borden. 1988 November 6, 1988. Golden Gift from Nature. Mecklenburg Neighbors: The Charlotte Observer; Sunday. 1, 10-11.

Reports

1989. Helianthus schweinitzii project for Fauquier-Loudoun Garden Club. Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina Botanical Garden. p.5.

1995. 1995 Annual report on taxa in the national collection for North Carolina Botanical Garden. Annual report to the Center for Plant Conservation. p.1.

Murdock, N. 1992. Schweinitz's sunflower, Helianthus schweinitzii. Asheville, NC: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.5.

USFWS. 1994. Schweinitz's Sunflower Recovery Plan. Atlanta, Ga.: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Southeast Region. p.28.

Theses

Davis, Joe Eric. 1996. Restoration of a Piedmont prairie: potential species composition and demographics of the federally endangered sunflower, Helianthus schweinitzii T. & G. (Asteraceae). [M.S. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 95p.

Estep, Bret Lawson. 2001. Ecotypic variation, population dynamics, and community ecology of the federally listed endangered sunflower Helianthus schweinitzii T&G (Asteraceae). [M.S. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 115p.

McRae, Catherine Allison. 1999. Experiments in prairie restoration. [M.S. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 95p.

Shinn, Nancy Ann. 1996. Effects of soil disturbance, herbivore grazing, and rockiness of soil on seed germination, seedling growth, and survival of the federally endangered sunflower, Helianthus schweinitzii. [M.S. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 25p.

Wolfe, Edward Michael. 1997. A review of the morphological variation of the Federally-listed endangered wild sunflower Helianthus schweinitzii Torrey and Gray. [M.A. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 82p.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010